BLISS RATING: ★★★★★
“The world’s judgement is terrifying, but us holding hands until the end… Isn’t that our story?” – Quote from Deep In
Magnum Opus! This is one of the best acted and finest love stories told on screen in a very long time. It literally is a duology, if you will. I was mesmerized by the story within a story. It at times was so hard to differentiate fact from fiction in its progression, which made it a despairing dichotomy. The existence of the real world blended into the fictionalized world of the movie they were filming while the fictionalized world of what the protagonists were filming became their real world. And the blending of the two natures was seamless, flawless, and sublime. I loved the fictionalized saga as much as I loved the ‘real-life’ story behind the scenes. And it was hard to separate the two at times and honestly, I did not want to. Why? Because the fictionalized characters became the real-life personas and the real-life personas became the fictionalized characters. I frankly have never seen such flawless acting blend and mesh between the two so well. I believed both were genuine. That IS what the fantasy of cinema is supposed to do and they did exactly that!
The complexities of this series are ginormous. Both ‘on’ screen and ‘off’ screen. While it is a love story between two ‘real’ individuals, they act it out via the roles in the fictional movie they are projecting. And their emotions are just as strong and real. That is the allure of this series. We see the progress of their love transform through their characterizations into whom they are as real people.
Zhen Zen (Ollie) is going to play the part of a psychiatrist named Fang Chi in an up-and-coming series that is a convoluted BL. Unbeknownst to others, Zhen Zen, who is a top actor, secretly wants and pushes for an up-and-coming young actor by the name of Zhang Zhun (Shu Yuan) to play the part of the character of a patient that he eventually falls in love with by the name of Gao Zhun. To say their therapeutic relationship is like an ongoing psychodrama treatment would be putting it mildly and in essence mirrors what is happening between the two of them in real life. Zhen Zen is intrigued and enamored by Zhang Zhun while Zhang Zhun cannot help but to be taken in by the number one male star’s attention and beauty. While both profess to be straight and both are in ‘committed’ relationships, when they are thrust into private intimate contacts, both on and off the set, sparks fly. Not just by a little but by a whole raging forest fire. Some of the most intense intimate ‘pretend’ scenes I have ever seen were not just passionate, they were erotic, steamy, and licentious. In fact, as they talk about their reactions to these scenes with each other and begin to convey how in real life they are developing an attraction to one another, Zhen Zen says that he had an orgasm during one of his scenes and he knew that Zhang Zhun was just as much into the scene as he was. The eroticism in this series is simply over the top and it blends completely into the ‘real’ lives with dire consequences.
This series is cinematic magic. The fusing of their characters was so complete that at times I had a hard time mentally separating my feelings of the characters with the ‘real’ individuals. It was magical to apperceive that what you were watching was just an extension of Zhen Zen as Fang Chi and Zhang Zhun as Gao Zhun. Their emotions spilled over. Their reactions were the same. Their love for one another was totally as deep; merely their names were different.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? There are several supporting characters who literally add significantly to the weight of this series. Everyone from Zhen Zen’s girlfriend, to the ‘girlfriend’ of Gao Zhun in the movie, to the director, as well as Zhang Zhun’s close friend and co-star Wu Rong as Zou Yun in the movie played by Yao Wang. However, the oddest and frankly weirdest character is Ms Qin (Qin Xun’er) played by Li Mei. The theatrical and talent manager for both performers who, for lack of a better description, is a not so convincing drag queen or trans individual. She is an over-the-top impersonator who plays moral police with the two of them. Constantly trying to separate the two of them, as she knows they are falling deeply in love with one another. However, their images, reputations, and futures are at risk if they are fully exposed as a couple. Her job is to squash the rumors and gossip and make it all go away. Which is astonishingly ironic given that she wants others to accept her for who she is. However, her characterization is so much deeper than what is presented. While she actively tries to suppress the relationship, she knows the inevitability of their relationship. She is quite aware of their burgeoning love and is powerless to stop it; she is merely trying to make it more palatable for others without destroying or ruining their careers. She is both a saint and a sinner. And I loved her role.
Overall, the performances in this series are some of the best acting I have seen so far this year. Both protagonists’ actors slip from fantasy roles to real ones with such ease that it was a seamless transition. Initially as ‘pretend’; then it became their own. At first, it was Zhen Zen. He was determined to have Zhang Zhun. Zhen Zen, a strong-willed and very determined Adonis, is also easily wounded and hurt. While Zhang Zhun is cautious, unsure, and easily lead into believing that a love affair with Zhen Zen is wrong on so many levels. He convinces himself that he has been wronged by him. Even conversations with his now alter ego fantasy Gao Zhun convinces him he is wrong to love Zhen Zen, I mean Fang Chi, I mean Zhen Zen. And the agony and pain in the plots of the love for the fantasy characters spilled over into parallel issues within the real world for them. The conflicts and psychodrama of their performances will convince you that their worlds have meshed. About the only thing you know, unequivocally, is that they are both deeply and ardently in love with each other.
A deliberate misleading at the end nearly leads to an eternal love that would have been lost forever. Yet, each emblematically held on, clung on, to the one unifying object that would bind them together. A symbol of lasting love. Perhaps the ending is seemingly contrived and maybe a bit rushed. I would have expected no less for these two dynamic individuals. The love between them was too strong and it required a flair. And we got it. I loved it passionately.
As a bonus, beyond the end of the credits, there are a few more surprises so make sure you stay for those. Sure, they are tongue-in-cheek, but it is the gravitas that makes this series so special.
This is one of those series that is so entertaining from beginning to end and everything in between. It is like watching a theater-in-the-round production. We are exposed to an explosion of feelings all at once both in a fantasy world and in a reality one. Some of it is ugly to be sure. Regrettable perhaps. But this is such an existential not passive experience. This series also hit home for its truthfulness. Living in Los Angeles and having acquaintances in Hollywood and gaining a peripheral knowledge of the inner workings of the film industry, this is a rather accurate depiction of what happens occasionally between co-stars. In other words, this is not necessarily a purely fabricated account of the film industry. I adored this series for its artistic bravery, its intense and passionate acting skills by everyone, the flawless story, and the crisp, sharp screenplay.
Overall, this series is one of the finest edited series I have ever seen. The flow from movie to real life and later transitional periods is just so well-choreographed into the overall storytelling. It is also the most aptly named series ever. The characters and story are so deeply involved, both internally and at its core, that it is impossible to separate literally fact from fiction. And that is what makes this series so masterful.
This is a series so near perfection, it is hard not to consider it a top contender for the number one spot for Best Series for 2026. Do not skip this series. It is indeed a masterpiece.
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